Chow Down Atlanta

I’m not really big on buffets. There are only three places I (and my family) ever go to where buffet is the norm: Fogo, and the brunch at the Ritz and the Renaissance Waverly hotels. But my mom is a big hot pot fan and Grand Buffet has been the place we’ve been going to for many years. It is also one of the oldest places to offer it.

Grand Buffet is a Chinese super buffet. The have tons of food including king crab legs, whole steamed fish, sushi, and fresh oysters aside from the usual Chinese fare. But we only go here for the hot pot alone. Sadly, the atmosphere became unbearable as years went by. Serving utensils are greasy, the floors are wet and slimy, the smell is dank, the carpets are moldy, and the tables are sticky. Just thinking about it grosses me out. So we stopped going all together.

But last Friday, my mom insisted we give it another try. We were doing the no-meat-on-Fridays during Lent and seafood hot pot seemed like a good idea. I wanted to go to Mini Hot Pot but my mom wanted all the fixings that were only available at Grand Buffet. Besides, she contended, we were going to cook our own food anyway so we know it’ll be clean. It’s hard to argue with her so we let her win.

Well, what a surprise — the place was immaculate! The floors were scrubbed clean and spotless, the serving utensils were all clean, and the food were neatly and nicely placed in their steam trays. I was literally astounded. The food has also tripled in quantity: there were lobsters in ginger/scallion sauce, barbecue duck, crawfish, frogs legs, Chinese barbecue, and even dimsum! We didn’t touch any of the buffet items so I can’t comment on the food. But the hot pot items have expanded: fresh shrimp, blue crabs, Manila clams, crawfish, giant clams, mussels, fish, oysters; assorted tofu, dumplings, and fish cakes, plus various green leafy veggies, and several kinds of mushrooms. You can really go overboard with your hot pot fixings here.

A welcome surprise — the place is spotless, the quantity and quality of food have improved, and service is outstanding. I’d put this place back on my rotation for hot pot. Incidentally, the place is under new management. I’ve seen this place get a score as low as 70 on their health inspection. This visit, they’re at 92.

Insider tip:
Located off Shackleford Rd. next to Home Depot and Oriental Pearl.
Buffet: $12.95 (daily)
Hot Pot: $14.95 (available during dinner on Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

The scoop:
Grand Buffet
1825 Liddell Ln
Duluth, GA 30096
(770) 279-0606

Technorati Tags: buffet, seafood, hot pot, Duluth, Gwinnett, Chinese super buffet, sushi, dimsum

current President of the Chinese community — a GaTech graduate

Happy New Year!!! My family has close ties with the Chinese/Asian community here in Atlanta (my dad has close business ties with the region). As such, I had to tag along to the yearly Chinese lunar new year celebration dinner held the Saturday before the lunar New Year. This year, it was held at Oriental Pearl. This year marks the 4707th year of the lunar new year. This year’s event is the biggest so far with 38% more in attendance: a total of 180 people. A surprisingly low number considering there are hundreds of thousands of Chinese here in Georgia.

The evening began with some speeches from the notable officers of the organization. Dinner was supposed to start at 6:30pm but we didn’t get served until close to 7:30. I’m used to it so I was smart enough to eat a snack prior to arriving. Good move on my part.

The 10-course dinner started with the Crab Meat Fish Maw soup. The soup was so bland I had to “re-cook” it myself — dousing it heavily with red vinegar, copious amounts of salt, and about 2 teaspoons of pepper. Still no taste. After 2 spoonfuls, I conceded defeat and abandoned it altogether.

Next, came the beef and Chinese broccoli. The beef was tender and the broccoli was crispy yet the dish didn’t really jump at me and make a lasting impression. Passable, if at all.

The Shrimp with Roasted Walnut was probably the one and only winner of the evening. The shrimp were plump and fresh with just the right amount and consistency of the mayo-based sauce. The roasted walnuts added texture and slight sweetness to the overall taste. Delicious.

Dinner service is interrupted as a young lady performs a Chinese fan dance on stage. A good way to pacify hungry people who are waiting for the slow kitchen that is so slammed at this point. The performance ends and still the kitchen isn’t ready. More performances. This time, from two teen-aged boys who wows us with their prowess of hip-hop and break dancing. More speech from the emcee and dinner resumes.

The Baby Chinese Vegetables was actually quite good. It had baby bokchoy in a chicken broth garnished with dried shrimp. The saltiness of the shrimp gave flavor and contrast to the bland broth and vegetables. I liked it.

The Spareribs with Peking sauce was actually Porkchops which was even better. Tender porkchops were battered, crispy deep-fried, then topped with a Malaysian-flavored sweet and sour Peking sauce. Good, but the porkchops had way too much batter.

The Grouper Fillet with Special Bean Sauce came next. The fried and battered fish was so chewy our entire table thought they were squid at first. It was also tasteless and the fish didn’t seem very fresh.

The Steamed Chicken looked so appetizing. It was a whole chicken sliced beautifully then topped with white sauce then garnished with Chinese broccoli. One thing I hate about steamed chicken is that some places can’t get it right. Tonight, they didn’t. Though the chicken was tender, it was also flavorless. Worse, the leg and thighs were so undercooked. Gross.

The most abominable dish of the evening came in the form of the House Special Fried Rice. This fried rice was so awful. First, the rice is so undercooked, you can taste the raw rice. Second, there just wasn’t any flavor. Like the chef forgot to season it. Now if a Chinese restaurant can’t get its fried rice right, then they have no business being a Chinese restaurant. I can still taste its awfulness in my mouth.

At this point, I’m thinking that everything just didn’t have any taste at all. I was right. The Black Mushroom with Prosperity Delicacy (baby cabbage) was a gooey mess of black mushrooms with some tentacle-looking things on a bed of baby cabbage in a thick chicken-broth-based sauce. No taste. Soft and chewy.

The last dish served, supposedly the best for last, was the Double Lobster with Ginger and Scallion. Now, would it be too much to ask that a dish be seasoned before being served. This is another bland dish. Too bad, the lobster was fresh out of the tank.

I have never liked Oriental Pearl. Back in the late 80s, my parents used to take us here for dimsum when we were kids. Back then, they served good authentic food. Really good food. But back then, the owners were different. It has changed owners and names several times since then. Now, it’s gone down hill. We haven’t been back in a while and we don’t intend to come back. None of the attendees that evening liked the food especially the respectable elders. In fact, none of the people there ever go to Oriental Pearl to eat. It’s probably the reason for the low turnout. But the organizers got a good deal so it was held there.

Still, the camaraderie among everyone more than made up for the awful food. And the event was very well organized. There were prize giveaways and a raffle. I even won a lucky envelope filled with a lucky coin. Best of all, it was fun. I had fun. It’s nice to see how other cultures celebrate.

The scoop:
5399 New Peachtree Rd
Chamblee, GA 30341
(770) 986-9866

Technorati Tags: Oriental Pearl, dimsum, Chinese cuisine, Chamblee, Buford Highway

Royal China’s owners have been in the food business in Atlanta for over 25 years starting with Barbeque Corner inside the Din Ho food court and its sister BBQ Corner II on Buford Highway (I practically grew up eating their food). In the mid-80s, the owner wanted to bring authentic Cantonese cuisine especially dim-sum to Atlanta so he imported hand-picked one of the best Cantonese cooks in Hongkong and brought him to BBQ Corner II. Later on, he opened Royal China and moved the Hongkong chef to it.

I can understand why some people think Royal China isn’t as good as their favorite places and I can’t fault them because that can be attributed to the fact that authentic Cantonese cuisine takes some getting used to. In other words, it’s an acquired taste for the average Westerner’s palate. Most Chinese restaurants in America serve Mandarin, Hunan, and even Szechuan cuisine (or a combination) and these are what people are used to (read: heavy sauces). Dim sum is a Cantonese invention and as such, has Cantonese flavors and style of cooking (steaming, boiling).

Royal China has the best most authentic dim sum in Atlanta hands down. Not only that, the food is fresh, delicious and unique, and the prices are inexpensive. Dishes are served hot via steam carts (unlike other places) that roam around the restaurant. You point at what you like, the server places your selection on your table, then marks it on the food card which also serves as your bill. If you’re not familiar about what to order, my tip is to try everything you think looks good because I assure you, each and every dish is really good. On weekends, there are special items such as clams on bean sauce or steamed Chinese broccoli which are only available that day so do try those as well. I do have a few suggestions, however…

Don’t miss the siu mai or dumplings. They come in several varieties such as pork (a must try for its tastiness), shrimp, shark’s fin, and other combinations. If you’re feeling a little adventurous, go for the beef tripe — fork-tender slices in ginger broth — the clean taste of the broth balances the texture of the tripe. There are also items for the hard-core such as the chicken feet (tasty but bony). The fried minced shrimp wrapped in bacon served with spicy sweet and sour sauce is another must-try and goes well with the lotus-wrapped rice (sticky rice topped with chicken and pork sausage, hard-boiled egg, and spices wrapped in lotus leaves then steamed). Other dishes worth trying are the char siu bao (pork buns) which are steamed dough buns filled with barbecued pork simmered in vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce; fried eggplant with shrimp (slices of eggplant topped with steamed minced shrimp served with sweetish-salty sauce); steamed Manila clams in ginger-soy sauce; radish cakes (mashed radish mixed with shrimp or pork then steamed or fried); egg custard cups; steamed cake buns; and, better save room for the tofu dessert — silky smooth soft tofu in ginger-sugar sauce. A perfect way to end your wonderful dim sum experience.

Insider tip:
Dim sum is served daily with weekends having a more extensive selection. Plan to go before 11 am on weekends as it’s common to have an hour wait around noon. If you’d rather not wait, ask to share a big table. Not to worry, you won’t share the bill or the food. Just the space.

The scoop:
Royal China Restaurant
3295 Chamblee Dunwoody Road,
Atlanta, GA 30341
Phone: (770) 216-9933
Major Credit Cards accepted
Plenty of parking

Technorati Tags: Royal China, Cantonese cuisine, Chinese Cuisine, dim sum, Buford Highway, dumplings, tofu dessert